Reflecting Back

For the course AED 200, I expected it to be an easy art course to complete a Gen Ed requirement. I was hoping to learn about art, and I learned much more. I was able to not just learn about art techniques, but also the entire history of art and how it has developed. This course exceeded my expectations and taught me much more than I was anticipating. At the beginning, I viewed art as a form of expression for artists and also communities as a whole. It creates uniqueness within the world. Now as I consider what art is, it is everything. It is a way for an artist to express themselves, improve on their skills, or just a hobby to do something interesting. Art cannot be defined, as was learned throughout the material. Artists made sure their pieces could not be labeled by rules, and we saw an avant garde movement which is the definition of these developments. Creating art can be done in any way whether it is a painting or someone constructs and decorates their new home. It is everything and anything a person can imagine. In my original post, I said my favorite artist was a musical artist, Freddie Mercury. After everything that I have learned, an artist that I enjoy in the visual context is Van Gogh. I find him interesting because of his self-portraits. He had to use himself as a study to perfect his skills, and I find this empowering as you do not have to have a lot of money to still be a great artist and complete inspirational works. Van Gogh’s Starry Night has also always been influential because it is so mesmerizing. If I could have that piece in my home I would because it just seems special, even if I do not have a reason as to why it is. As mentioned at the beginning of the course, I had taken many online courses before because they’re an easy way to manage on my own time around other assignments. I would say I will continue to take online courses, but also mention that I feel this was a very lengthy online course that I would refrain freshman from taking their first semester due to the heavy workload there was. This is a course for either a spring freshman or higher level student to take just so that they can learn to manage their time and not stress themselves out. I am a junior standing and this course was a lot of work on top of my major studies, but I still enjoyed it.